Archive · In the Press · Monarchies · People

Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and the Russian riders leave the Olympics without medals

Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich (1891-1942), grandson of Alexander II and first cousin of Nicholas II, pictured far left, took part in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. Dmitry Pavlovich was a member of the Russian equestrian team, the sport having been added to the Olympic programme that year. The

Interviews · Observations · Society · Pop Culture

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons on censorship and political correctness in a 2016 interview

I did not bother to look into why Miuccia Prada, one of the foremost designers of our time, is being cancelled just now, but I found a 2016 interview in which she anticipated her own vulnerable position. Jonathan Wingfield sent the young Tavi Gevinson, the stylist Katie Grand and the

A tilted metal cylinder with a shiny interior stands on a concrete floor beside stacks of grey felt and an open dark felt bag with blue straps.

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Metal cylindrical form and felt pieces on a concrete floor

View from below of a spiral metal slide curving along a building wall with windows, with a tall pole in front.

People · Pop Culture · Humour

Juergen Teller’s 2016 photograph of a spiral metal slide on a building facade

The slide by which Miuccia Prada leaves her office. Photograph by Juergen Teller, 2016

Archive · Architecture · Heritage

Mokhovaya Tower of the Sumsky Ostrog on the White Sea, preserved thanks to Pyotr Baranovsky

The Moss Tower of the Sumsky Ostrog is one of the few surviving wooden defensive structures of the 16th century in Europe. The Sumsky Ostrog on the White Sea consisted of six hexagonal towers and protected the lands of the Solovetsky Monastery from the Swedes. The Moss Tower is 19

NB! · Art · Observations

A very interesting auction find

A very interesting auction find. Estimated at 300 euros, this painting went for 13,000, unexpectedly bringing the sale to a close on such a triumphant note. It recalls Van Dyck and Pieter Thijs. When I see sales like this, I am glad that I am not the only such

Facades of two high-rise towers with dark cladding. Trees and shrubs grow on wide balconies with white edges, set against a blue sky.

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Bosco Verticale residential towers in Milan with trees on the balconies

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Nature

Criticism of Bosco Vertical in Milan and the author's advice to try Virginia creeper

Most contemporary architectural projects look far better as visualisations than as built reality. So it was with the luxury residential complex Bosco Vertical in Milan, literally a "vertical forest", which in practice turned out to be not quite so green or so mysterious. Once construction was complete, the

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Prince Charles with a Moustache Is Something New

NB! · Observations

Good Evening

Archive · Art · Monarchies · Mores

Catherine II Visits Potemkin at His House by Night

Catherine II visits Potemkin at his house by night. The Empress is dressed as a lady of the court, Potemkin as a monk. Flemish engraver Lambertus Antonius Claessens, after a drawing by Jacques Kuyper, 1800

NB! · Archive · London · Monarchies

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